Garry Tan — YC Operator Memory

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  "pack_id": "garry-tan-yc",
  "version": {
    "number": 1,
    "label": "stage-1-distillation",
    "updated": "2026-05-18",
    "note": ""
  },
  "version_note": "Stage 6.1 \u2014 QA fixes applied (Ryan Peterson attribution, Postel's Law wording, dedup, type-tag reclassification, sources[] completed)",
  "signed": true,
  "figure": "Garry Tan",
  "locked_angle": "Inside YC: Garry Tan's frameworks for building the world's most successful startup institution.",
  "angle_emphasis": "YC President/CEO role, founder evaluation frameworks, what makes startups succeed, how he rebuilt YC, earnestness thesis, Little Tech policy stance.",
  "cluster_files": [
    "memory/operating-principles.md",
    "memory/founder-operating-philosophy.md",
    "memory/voice-and-rhetoric.md"
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "code": "Peel2026",
      "title": "The Peel with Turner Novak \u2014 Past, Present, and Future of YC",
      "date": "2026-02-19",
      "url": "https://www.thespl.it/p/garry-tan-on-the-past-present-and",
      "extraction": "WebFetch transcript page (thespl.it newsletter)",
      "length_est": "~1h24m spoken / ~8,000 words"
    },
    {
      "code": "PW2024",
      "title": "Pirate Wires Keynote \u2014 Over the Target (Session IV)",
      "date": "2024-09-18",
      "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j33ANHtp4rQ",
      "extraction": "yt-dlp --write-auto-sub --sub-lang en --sub-format json3",
      "length_est": "~41m spoken / ~12,000 words"
    },
    {
      "code": "WashRep2025",
      "title": "Washington Reporter \u2014 YC CEO on Little Tech priorities",
      "date": "2025-04-10",
      "url": "https://washingtonreporter.news/interview-y-combinator-ceo-garry-tan-on-his-top-three-priorities-and-the-future-of-little-tech-in-trumps-america",
      "extraction": "curl + html-strip (full article text)",
      "length_est": "~3,000 words"
    },
    {
      "code": "QuestPod",
      "title": "The Quest Pod with Justin Kan \u2014 Designer, Engineer, Investor, Human",
      "date": "2021-04",
      "url": "htt

# AMP Routing — garry

## Always load
- operating-principles.md — worldview, life philosophy, personal operating system, earnestness framework

## Route by task type

| If the task involves... | Load |
|---|---|
| Startup evaluation, YC frameworks, founder selection, idea maze | founder-operating-philosophy.md |
| Company-building, hiring, product, YC operating model, Little Tech policy | founder-operating-philosophy.md + operating-principles.md |
| Communication, rhetorical style, framing, public persuasion | voice-and-rhetoric.md |
| VC investing, power law, portfolio construction, seed stage | founder-operating-philosophy.md |
| SF politics, tech governance, policy | operating-principles.md + voice-and-rhetoric.md |